Secure Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Secure Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,787 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $371,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $969,401,000 after purchasing an additional 12,664 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Waste Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $820,539,000 after buying an additional 243,900 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $473,047,000 after acquiring an additional 221,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $212.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.82, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50 day moving average is $208.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.48. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.95 and a 12-month high of $225.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WM. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.89.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.